Page 1287 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015

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that have been audited. To date, more than 60 audits have been completed. The whole-of-government guidelines set a benchmark for the management of construction projects commissioned by the government. The guidelines ensure that workplace safety is a key consideration when procuring and managing construction work.

The ACT government is committed to improving health and safety outcomes for the territory’s construction industry. We will continue to work with the community, employers and unions to identify effective, practical solutions that keep people safe in their workplace and bring people home to their families, where they should be.

Many of us have risen in this house to talk about deaths and injuries of workers not just in the construction industry but across all workplaces. Every employee should be able to come home to their family injury free and alive. I want to mention the CFMEU’s campaign which they launched last year, calling on Australians to stand up, speak out and come home. But it is the responsibility of each of us to ensure that our mates, our employees and those in our community make it home safely.

As we all recognise in this place, every Australian worker has the right to come home in one piece at the end of the day. That is why it is important that we continue to make workplace health and safety a priority. That is something this government and Minister Gentleman have assured us of today.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

National Youth Week

Ministerial statement

MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Planning, Minister for Roads and Parking, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, Minister for Children and Young People and Minister for Ageing) (10.51), by leave: Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to reflect on the significance of what was a very successful National Youth Week held here in the ACT. National Youth Week provides us with an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements and contributions that our young people make to the life of Canberra and to Australia more generally. As members are aware, National Youth Week is an annual joint Australian, state and territory initiative that celebrates and recognises the value that young Australians contribute to their communities. The objective of National Youth Week is to showcase young people’s talents, contributions and achievements, and to acknowledge the common interests of young people as well as their diverse backgrounds and circumstances. National Youth Week also provides an opportunity for young people to express their ideas and to be heard.

National Youth Week is the single largest celebration of young people in Australia. In the ACT, hundreds of young people aged from 12 to 25 get involved in National Youth Week each year, and the recent 2015 event proved to be no different, with a fantastic celebration of young people in our community. National Youth Week in the ACT was launched on 10 April with a youth expo in Garema Place. The expo saw over 20 youth-related community organisations represented. The purpose of the expo was to provide information on the services available for young people in the Canberra


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